Preview: AFC Bournemouth

After an impressive 1-0 win over Exeter City last Saturday, attention now turns to the Carabao Cup for MK Dons as they make the journey to Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in Round Two of the competition.

Paul Tisdale's side overcame Charlton Athletic 3-0 in Round One of the Cup and were rewarded with a trip to the Vitality Stadium.

A victory tonight would see the Dons reach the Third Round of the competition for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Kick-off is at 7.45pm.

Bournemouth continue to impress and attract admirers for their attractive style of play. The Cherries are currently amidst their fourth season as a Premier League side after earning promotion into the top flight back in 2015.

At the helm, Eddie Howe has been with the Club since 2012 – the 40-year-old started his footballing career with the Dorsetshire side. A former Defender, Howe had three spells with the Club racking up over 250 appearances.

Bournemouth currently sit sixth in the Premier League having picked up seven points from a possible nine for far this season. They began their campaign with a 2-0 with over Cardiff thanks to goals from Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson before coming from behind the following weekend to beat West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium.

On Saturday, they continued their impressive start to the season as goals from Josh King and Nathan Ake earned Bournemouth a 2-2 draw with Everton.

Agard, who missed an earlier spot-kick from 12-yards, made amends by converting from a later penalty to extend MK Dons’ unbeaten run to six games with their third league victory of the campaign - a result which sees them climb to second in the Sky Bet League Two table.

Bournemouth came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Everton at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday to maintain their unbeaten starts to the season.

Everton forward Richarlison was shown a straight red card four minutes before half-time following a clash of heads in the area with right-back Adam Smith.

However, that did not affect the visitors, who went ahead through Theo Walcott's goal before Adam Smith also saw red for hauling back the Everton winger.

Marco Silva's team soon doubled their lead thanks to Michael Keane's header, only for the hosts to take a share of the spoils after goals in the final 15 minutes from Josh King - via the spot - and Nathan Ake.

MK Dons manager Paul Tisdale: “We're really looking forward to going down there, I’ve always enjoyed matches down there. I know Eddie and his staff really well from over the years. We'll look forward to it, we have nothing to lose. The players should be looking forward to it and hopefully we'll take some supporters down there to enjoy the evening too.”

Paul Tisdale told iFollow MK Dons that he will make one or two changes to his MK Dons side for tonight's tie, giving opportunties to members of his squad.

He didn't reveal any fresh injury concerns heading into tonight’s clash, with Peter Pawlett, Conor McGrandles and Osman Sow all expected to miss the tie. The game will likely come too soon for Brandon Thomas-Asante, who is still undergoing his rehabilitation programme.

Sam Nombe was part of the matchday squad against Exeter and could once again feature after returning from an ankle injury but Mathieu Baudry is unavailable - he will serve the final game of his three-match suspension for his red card at Crewe Alexandra.

Eddie Howe has confirmed that summer signings Diego Rico and Jefferson Lerma are expected to make their debuts for Bournemouth this evening.

Howe has no fresh injuries and will still be without Junior Stanislas and Kyle Taylor.

James Linington will run the rule over tonight’s clash as he takes charge of his fifth match of the season.

The vastly experienced referee has so far issued 12 yellow cards this season, while he has send someone off.

Mr Linington last took charge of the Dons during their 1-0 win over QPR in the Emirates FA Cup last season.

His assistant referees tonight are Mark Russell and Dean Treleaven, while the Fourth Official is Ollie Yates.

Sky Bet TipBoth Teams to Score, 5+ Corners for each team and 20+ Booking Points for each team: 33/1

Tickets for tonight's Carabao Cup Round Two with AFC Bournemouth are no longer available to book.

iFollow MK Dons will have also live commentary of the game for all supporters – click HERE to sign up for as little as £4.49 for a month. Carabao Cup matches are not available to watch on iFollow MK Dons,

Supporters can also stay in touch with the action via mkdons.com’s Match Centre, which can be accessed by visiting the home page from 6pm.

There will also be full coverage on the Club’s social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat!

A full match report will be available to view on mkdons.com straight after the final whistle along with full reaction from Paul Tisdale and a player. Highlights will be available to view from midnight on Wednesday night/Thursday morning.